Disappearing Act
by LizLem59
Summary: When Beckett doesn't show up to the precinct one day, the team starts to worry. They quickly discover that something drastic has happened. Where has Beckett gone, and what will it take to get her back? Rated T for some graphic-ish content.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everybody! This is my first fanfic, so I hope you like it! Sorry if it sucks, and sorry if i forget to update! :P**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these fabulous people. :)**

As Kate Beckett locked her car outside of the precinct, something felt off. She couldn't place it, but something definitely wasn't right. She looked around, thinking she'd see some masked murderer.

"You've just been around Castle too much," she thought to herself.  
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, yet still uneasy, she cautiously began walking towards the precinct door.

And that is when Kate Beckett disappeared.

Castle strolled into the 12th humming his favorite tune, two coffee cups in his hand. He was more than a bit surprised to find Beckett's desk empty. Looking around, he spotted Esposito and Ryan and walked over to them.  
"Hey Espo, Ryan."  
"Sup Castle," Esposito replied, not looking up from the stack of papers on his desk.  
"Have you seen Beckett?" Castle asked.  
"Nope," Ryan said. "Probably just running late."  
"Probably," Castle echoed, and sat down at Beckett's desk to wait.  
10 minutes passed, then 20. After a half an hour, Castle was done waiting. He picked up his phone and texted her, asking her where she was and if she was okay.  
Just then, Lanie walked in. "Hey guys, I got some progress on the cause of death. Probably something you'll wanna see, Beckett."  
"Beckett's not here," Castle said.  
"Really?" Lanie asked, skeptical. "When I came in, her car was parked out front."

They all looked at each other for a moment, then Ryan broke the silence. "Let's go take a look."

Sure enough, when they walked outside, Beckett's car was parked in her usual spot, front row, third from the right.  
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Esposito said nervously.  
They looked around the lot for a few minutes before Lanie practically screamed. Everyone ran over.  
"What's wrong?" Ryan said. Lanie said nothing and just pointed down.  
On the ground was a police badge.

Beckett's police badge.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again! Here's the next chapter... I have school off today, so hopefully i will be able to update quickly!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing has changed, still don't own anyone.**

Beckett awoke to darkness. She felt thick ropes cutting into her wrists and ankles, binding her to a chair. As she struggled to get free, she heard a door creak from somewhere in the room. She instantly froze, keeping all of her senses alert. The door slammed shut, and the click-clack of footsteps echoed throughout the seemingly large room.  
"Hello Beckett," a man said, practically spitting her name out as if it was sour.  
A bright light flashed on, temporarily blinding her. She squinted, barely able to make out the masculine figure that loomed just yards away.  
The man stepped into the light, revealing nothing more than an all black outfit and a black ski mask.  
"Not much of a talker, are you," the man said as he began pacing the floor.  
"Not on your life," Beckett mumbled angrily.  
"Well, Kate, we need information that you have," the man continued. "And we will stop at nothing to make sure we get it."

He stopped pacing and looked straight at her. "In other words, we are going to have a lot of fun."

The team went into overdrive. Checking surveillance videos, taping off the parking lot, looking for fingerprints. Castle called Alexis and Martha and told them to go to the Hampton's for a week, just to be on the safe side.  
"Yo, Castle," Esposito called. The writer rushed over.  
"Did you find something?" Castle asked hopefully.  
"No, but I want you to go to Beckett's apartment. See if there's anything out of the ordinary."  
"Got it," Castle said. "Call me when you find anything, no matter how small." Esposito nodded, and continued sorting through surveillance tapes.  
Castle trudged out to his car. The last thing he wanted to do was go into Kate's apartment. It would make it even more impossible to forget that the love of his life was missing. But, if there was anything in her apartment that might help him find her, he was willing to go.

He drove across town, making a beeline for Kate's apartment. He stopped and got out of the car, making sure it was locked. He took a deep breath, and headed for the door, unsure about what he would find.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi! Another chapter here for you... sorry the chapters are so short by the way, I'll try to make them longer in the future!**

**Disclaimer: Not. My. Characters.**

Blinding pain shot through Beckett's body as she lay crumpled on the floor. Refusing to give in, she choked back a cry, but could not stop the salty tears from streaming down her face.  
"Where is it!" the man screamed again, and brought the whip down again, with pain following close behind.  
"I... I don't... know what... you are talking about," Kate struggled to say.  
"Don't lie to me!" he yelled in fury, and kicked her hard in the stomach. Kate could not surpress the scream this time as she flew towards the wall and hit it with enough force to dent it.  
The man strode towards her and raised his fist to punch her, but stopped. "You know, if you won't talk, maybe your boyfriend will." An evil grin spread across his face.  
Beckett's eyes widened in fear. "No!" she cried. "Don't bring Castle into this!"  
"Then start talking!" he screamed, and brought his fist down, hitting her square on the side of her head.  
The last thing Kate heard was, "You have 2 hours to tell me where the box is before I take him."

And then black.

Castle slowly slid his spare key into Kate's door, and turned it. He pulled it out and pushed the door open cautiously.  
Her apartment was trashed. Furniture tipped over, cabinets standing open. Boxes and bottles that held various items had been strewn everywhere, their contents coating the floor. Many of the walls had been knocked out, their remains nothing but a crumbly mess. The large window in her living room had been shattered.  
After Castle recovered from his brief state of shock, he pulled out his phone and dialed Esposito's number.  
"Talk to me, Castle," Esposito said.  
"Espo, get over here now," Castle said. "Someone broke into Kate's apartment. They were clearly looking for something."  
"Got it, bro," Esposito replied. "We're coming now. Did you touch anything?"  
"No," Castle said.  
"Good, that will make it easier to fingerprint the place."  
"Yeah, you're going to need all the help you can get on that one, Espo. This place is a wreck."  
"Okay, bro, we'll be there in ten," Esposito said. "See you then."

"Okay, bye," Castle said, then hung up.

When Kate woke up, the man was gone. Her head was throbbing, but she distinctly remembered the man saying something about a box.  
She thought hard, trying to recall Castle ever telling her about a box. She couldn't think of a time, but she forced herself to keep thinking.  
She soon realized that she really didn't know what the man was talking about. Tears began streaming down her face as sobs shook through her broken body.  
He was going to hurt Castle.

And there was nothing she could do to stop him.

When Esposito and Ryan arrived at Beckett's apartment, they were as shocked as Castle had been. As their crew began dusting for prints, they talked to Castle.  
"Man, you weren't joking about this place being a dump," Ryan said.  
"No kidding," Esposito replied. "It looks like a tornado took over!"  
"Hey, Detective Ryan, we found a complete print!" a man hollered from across the room.

"Good job!" Ryan called back. "You know what to do. Get it collected and back to the lab ASAP for testing. We have to find this guy."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello again! Here's another chapter... So yeah. Enjoy...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them so yeah.**

Beckett's mind soon began formulating a believable lie to tell the man. Since she sincerely did not know what box the man was talking about, it was the only way to save Castle.  
The plan began to pan out in her mind. However, she couldn't think about what would happen if he didn't believe her, because then he walked in.  
"Last chance to talk before I take your boyfriend," he said with a snarl.

"Okay," Kate said, taking a deep breath. "The only box Castle has ever mentioned," she paused. "Was at his house in the Hampton's."

Back at the precinct, Castle's phone rang. It was Alexis.  
"Hey sweetie," Castle said.  
"Hi Dad," Alexis said. "What's going on?"  
"I'll explain when everything's over," Castle said wearily. "But you and Grams are at the Hampton's, right?"  
"Yeah," she said suspiciously. "Dad, did something happen to Beckett?"  
Castle sighed. He glanced up and saw Esposito motioning for him to take a look at something. "Look, sweetie, I'll explain later. Just stay there and stay safe. I'll call you when I can." He paused, then added, "I love you Alexis."  
"Love you too, Dad," she said. "Please don't get yourself killed."  
"I won't," he said. "Bye."  
He hit end call and walked over to Esposito. "What did they find?"  
"They matched the prints with a guy named Paul Karopi," Ryan said. "Someone saw him walking into a building over on Broadway."

Castle nodded. "Let's go nail him."

Ryan, Esposito, and Castle led a pack of about 8 police cars heading through New York City. The police radio was constantly crackling different bits and pieces of information, all relevant to Detective Kate Beckett.  
Castle sat in the back, praying that Kate would still be alive. He got multiple texts from both Alexis and his mother asking what was going on, if everything was okay, and demanding answers. He ignored all of them.  
Soon, but not soon enough for Castle, they arrived at the building. Esposito and Ryan went in, guns drawn, followed closely by another squad and Castle. One officer tried to stop Castle on the way in, but one look at the fear and distress in Castle's eyes and he was let through.  
They checked every room silently. Deserted. Castle's heart sank. They were gone.  
Suddenly, he heard a very quiet sob. Castle moved in the direction of the sound, not alerting the others. He soon came to a closet in a room. He crawled to the back of the closet, where the noise was loud and clear. He pushed on the wall with all of his remaining strength as other officers looked on.  
Soon, Esposito walked over to him. "Bro, she's not here," he said softly. "We have to go back to the precinct."  
But then, and loud crack was heard, and Castle tumbled out of view.

Just seconds later, a voice cried, "Beckett!"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey everybody! Thanks for all the love on this story! :D This is the next chapter, hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters**

Beckett was curled up on the floor weeping. After she had told the man the so called location of the box, he had beaten her. Hard. She didn't know if her story had been believed, but no matter how much she convinced herself that Castle was safe, she couldn't. She had failed, and now the best thing that had ever happened to her was about to disappear too.  
She laid like that for what seemed like hours. Her broken body shook with every sob, creating sharp, jabbing pains throughout her. Her blood stained the floor, the red fading into the cold concrete. Salty tears ran down her cheeks, smearing the blood that was already there. Hunger pangs stabbed her like a knife to the gut, and her mouth was dry with thirst.  
She heard a pounding coming from somewhere, and she braced herself for the worst.  
Then, someone tumbled through the wall.  
"Beckett!" he cried and ran over to her.  
She looked up, and immediately recognized the only man she had ever really loved.

"Castle," she whispered.

As Castle tumbled through the wall, his thoughts were on Beckett. Hoping, praying that she was there.  
His prayers were answered. As he hit the concrete floor with a thud, he looked around. His eyes immediately fell on his one and only true love.  
"Beckett!" he cried and scrambled over to her.  
Her eyes fluttered open, tears blurring every detail of her eyes to smudges. "Castle," she whispered weakly. She moved to sit up, but found she hurt too much to do so.  
Castle cradled her in his arms, and Kate, beaten and bloody, gave in immediately. They sat together on the cold cement floor, not looking up when a group of officers dropped in, or when Esposito and Ryan ran over, or even when the medics came to take Beckett to the hospital. They practically had to pry her arms from around Castle.  
As they wheeled her onto the ambulance, she said, "Wait."  
The medics looked at her. "What is it, hon?" a nice looking lady asked.  
Beckett reached a trembling hand out to Castle. "Castle."  
"Hon, he's coming in his car," the lady said.  
Kate looked up fearfully. "Please," she begged. "Castle."  
"Alright hon, I'll go get him." The lady turned to the others. "Load her up. I'll go grab her boyfriend."  
As the medics loaded Beckett into the ambulance, the medic walked over to Castle. "Mr. Castle? She wants you to ride with her."  
Castle nodded, gave a small wave to Esposito and Ryan, and walked over to the ambulance with the medic.  
As he climbed on, Beckett's hand reached out. "Castle," she said with a small smile.  
"Beckett," he replied, smiling back and reaching over to hold her hand.  
They sat like that the whole way to the hospital.


End file.
